# Humidors in Southern Heat



## burritosdaily (Jul 2, 2007)

Guys,

I'm just outside of Houston and things get HOT HOT HOT around here... I guess the humidity is helpful for the stogies but I know the heat isn't....

I'm trying to get a second desktop humi set-up and was wondering if you of you other hot climate folks have had issues with summer heat and if you've made any adjustments.

I keep my desktops out of direct sunlight and the AC is kept on 77* during the day and 73* at night. I'm guessing the humi peaks up to 77 or 78 during the day...

THANKS!


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## Lopezoscar03 (Nov 2, 2011)

i have the same problem living in south florida and what i do is freeze my cigars. that is your best bet my friend. another suggestion is building a wineador which keeps a regulated temp.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

Yeppers, Oscar is right. My only option is to freeze everything. Maybe some day a wineador.


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## burritosdaily (Jul 2, 2007)

Lopezoscar03 said:


> i have the same problem living in south florida and what i do is freeze my cigars. that is your best bet my friend. another suggestion is building a wineador which keeps a regulated temp.





Fuzzy said:


> Yeppers, Oscar is right. My only option is to freeze everything. Maybe some day a wineador.


You guys saying you store them in the freezer?


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## Lopezoscar03 (Nov 2, 2011)

burritosdaily said:


> You guys saying you store them in the freezer?


here is the break down. grab some of those freezer bags. i prefer the gallon size. thrown some sticks in them without over crowding it. with a straw suck the air out and then throw them into another bag and suck the air out of that one too. store them in the freezer for 72 hours and then 24 hours in the refrigerator. this actually prevents the out break of beetles.


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

Here is the link to read about freezing

http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/cigar-questions/272095-science-behind-freezing.html

Heat is not good for cigars

If you have the same weather as me, I would suggest keeping your stash at a lower RH, like below 65% This will cut down on the chances of mold.


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## burritosdaily (Jul 2, 2007)

I've seen the wine cooler option and do aspire to it..... just can't make that leap yet.

If they have been frozen and then are kept at humidity in a desktop humi, although a bit warm (up to 77*), can I rest assured they will be fine?


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## socalocmatt (Dec 22, 2010)

burritosdaily said:


> I've seen the wine cooler option and do aspire to it..... just can't make that leap yet.
> 
> If they have been frozen and then are kept at humidity in a desktop humi, although a bit warm (up to 77*), can I rest assured they will be fine?


So far so good as far as beetles are concerned. Mold might end up being an issue :noidea:


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

You can't be 100% sure you'll be all right if you freeze, but you can be _really _close to it. There is always a very remote possibility that a stray, pregnant tobacco beetle might find your stash and infest it, but I have never heard of anyone on Puff having that experience. So, it's theoretically possible, but I wouldn't worry about it.

We keep the house at 80-82 in the summer, with ceiling fans going. Obviously, in the Phoenix area, we do not have your humidity. We have almost none most of the year. My coolerdor is in a large walk-in closet, and my desktop is in the family room, out of the sun. I've only had them a couple of years, but I freeze everything and I've had no problems.

A note about freezing - 72 hours is good - refrigerator time seems to be optional, based upon testimony around here. Some do it, some don't. I don't, and I've not had wrapper splits, etc.


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## Snagged (Aug 20, 2010)

Mold is a moisture issue, not a heat issue. I've probably got some moldy veggies in the crisper (aka, rotter) drawer of my fridge right now that I offer as proof of this.

I freeze everything as described above to avoid any beetle problems. My house is 78 when I run the AC and up to 90 when I don't (right before I cave in and turn on the AC in May). I've never had a problem with taste or quality of my smokes. The biggest danger without temperature control would be that swinging temperatures can affect your humidity levels. At a stable temperature like you have in your house, you shouldn't have any problems with humidity swings anyway. In my opinion, the stable temperature, not necessarily the low temperature, is the most efficacious aspect of storing cigars in a wine cooler. After all, people have been storing cigars in wooden humidors for a lot longer than they've been storing them in wine coolers and never knew there was any other option.

My advice is freeze them and keep them in your desktop humidor without worrying about it. Unless you just like the wine-a-dor idea, I'd spend my $$$ on good smokes.

-Mike


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## jphank (Apr 29, 2012)

I don't have AC, so I have to freeze. My desktop humi is 65% RH but around 74 degrees. I've freeze treated all the cigars and have -0- mold issues, and -0- beetles.


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## burritosdaily (Jul 2, 2007)

ah... you guys have been very helpful.... thanks!


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## socalocmatt (Dec 22, 2010)

Snagged said:


> Mold is a moisture issue, not a heat issue. I've probably got some moldy veggies in the crisper (aka, rotter) drawer of my fridge right now that I offer as proof of this.
> 
> I freeze everything as described above to avoid any beetle problems. My house is 78 when I run the AC and up to 90 when I don't (right before I cave in and turn on the AC in May). I've never had a problem with taste or quality of my smokes. The biggest danger without temperature control would be that swinging temperatures can affect your humidity levels. At a stable temperature like you have in your house, you shouldn't have any problems with humidity swings anyway. In my opinion, the stable temperature, not necessarily the low temperature, is the most efficacious aspect of storing cigars in a wine cooler. After all, people have been storing cigars in wooden humidors for a lot longer than they've been storing them in wine coolers and never knew there was any other option.
> 
> ...


Mold can be a heat issue: http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/buildings/basics/moldgrowth.htm. Different molds can withstand different temps as well as different levels of humidity. Just like your example of your fridge. The humidity in you fridge, when closed, is hopefully way under 60%. Yet, mold can still grow.


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## smokin3000gt (Apr 25, 2012)

burritosdaily said:


> Guys,
> 
> I'm just outside of Houston and things get HOT HOT HOT around here... I guess the humidity is helpful for the stogies but I know the heat isn't....
> 
> ...


I live in SW Florida and we run hot like you do. I keep my humi in my bedroom on my dresser and keep my AC on 74 or 75 regardless (I work outside and hate coming home to a hot muggy house) and the temp in my box stay between 70-73 with RF 69-71%.


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## smokin3000gt (Apr 25, 2012)

Not to hijack the thread or anything but since you guys brought it up, doesn't freezing dry out and kill the flavor of a cigar? I've put other things in the freezer only to find that there's no smell or taste afterwards.


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

If you store a cigar in the freezer, it would almost certainly suffer badly, as would you when you smoked it and realized how awful it was. But the short length of time we freeze cigars does not seem to have an effect on them.

Caveat - There is at least one Puffer who disagrees with the statement that briefly freezing cigars (72 hours) does not adversely affect their flavor, as I recall from some of the other discussions about freezing.

Caveat to the caveat - There is also at least one who has taken cigars directly from freezer to lighter with acceptable results.


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## smokin3000gt (Apr 25, 2012)

Tritones said:


> If you store a cigar in the freezer, it would almost certainly suffer badly, as would you when you smoked it and realized how awful it was. But the short length of time we freeze cigars does not seem to have an effect on them.
> 
> Caveat - There is at least one Puffer who disagrees with the statement that briefly freezing cigars (72 hours) does not adversely affect their flavor, as I recall from some of the other discussions about freezing.
> 
> Caveat to the caveat - There is also at least one who has taken cigars directly from freezer to lighter with acceptable results.


So what you're saying is when I get smokes, I should freeze them for 2-3 days before putting them in the humi?


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## RWalleyTX (Feb 21, 2012)

do boveda packs! they claim as long as your RH is good your temp does that matter that much.


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## yellowv (Dec 24, 2011)

I am in Florida. My house is kept between 73 and 76 degrees. I use a winador and a coolidor. Never have frozen any of my sticks. My winador stays between 66 and 67 degrees and RH is solid at 64-65% RH. I think the winador is the best option bar none in hot climates. Best in any climate actually as nothing will be more stable. My cooler is kept in a walk in closet that has ac and no direct sunlight. It stays between 69 and 71 degrees and the RH is stable at 63-64%RH. It is almost as good an option as the winador. I will never have any use for a wood humidor again. They fluctuate way too much for my tastes.


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## sleepyguy5757 (May 29, 2012)

I live in Hawaii, my home doesnt have AC so my humidor never gets below 80F during the day. I use 65% RH beads and have not had any issues so far, I think even 60% RH would be fine.


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## Snagged (Aug 20, 2010)

socalocmatt said:


> Mold can be a heat issue: Mold Growth. Different molds can withstand different temps as well as different levels of humidity. Just like your example of your fridge. The humidity in you fridge, when closed, is hopefully way under 60%. Yet, mold can still grow.


From the article you provided:

"...anyone who has cleaned out their refrigerator quickly realizes that temperatures close to freezing are not cold enough to prevent mold growth..."

And...

"it is not feasible to control mold growth in our home environment through the control of temperature."

And...

"Most molds requires [sic] the presence of considerable moisture for growth. Obviously, the word "considerable" is key here. [...] The vast majority of mold species require "water activity" levels that are equivalent to material equilibrium moisture contents corresponding to relative humidities of at least 70%."

Regarding the crisper drawer, the concept of a crisper drawer is that it maintains a higher humidity than the rest of the fridge. That's the "crisping" part. That's why things mold there more quickly.

So...like I said...freeze your cigars to control beetle populations, maintain humidity levels in the 60s, if possible keep your temperature steady, and enjoy your smokes.

-Mike


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## Tritones (Jun 23, 2010)

smokin3000gt said:


> So what you're saying is when I get smokes, I should freeze them for 2-3 days before putting them in the humi?


That's what I do, and what a lot of guys on Puff do as well - most of whom are way beyond me in knowledge and experience. I double-bag them in ziplocks, removing as much air as possible from each bag, then pop them in the freezer for 72 hours, then put them in the coolidor to rest a bit. I almost never smoke anything ROTT any more, so they're usually in the coolidor for a year. But I like at least a week or two even for the ones I plan to smoke fresh.


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## RWalleyTX (Feb 21, 2012)

Im not sure if all companies do this but i know padron freezes all their cigars before they go out. I also saw a youtube video on this as well


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## Jordan23 (May 25, 2012)

Snagged said:


> Mold is a moisture issue, not a heat issue. I've probably got some moldy veggies in the crisper (aka, rotter) drawer of my fridge right now that I offer as proof of this.
> 
> I freeze everything as described above to avoid any beetle problems. My house is 78 when I run the AC and up to 90 when I don't (right before I cave in and turn on the AC in May). I've never had a problem with taste or quality of my smokes. The biggest danger without temperature control would be that swinging temperatures can affect your humidity levels. At a stable temperature like you have in your house, you shouldn't have any problems with humidity swings anyway. In my opinion, the stable temperature, not necessarily the low temperature, is the most efficacious aspect of storing cigars in a wine cooler. After all, people have been storing cigars in wooden humidors for a lot longer than they've been storing them in wine coolers and never knew there was any other option.
> 
> ...


+1 on everything. Listen to the man. I used to drive myself crazy about this stuff until I began doing this. I have a wineodor that's temp controlled. But I also have a regular desktop humi, some days in the summer it gets up to 81 (but usually is around 74 to 77 degrees). So far with proper freezing, I havent had any problems. As you probably know, these AL summers can be harsh.


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## Voorhees (Jul 5, 2011)

Here in GA I keep the house/humi at 75 degrees or less and the RH in the Humi stays about 65-66. I used to keep the RH up to 70(or above at times) and had some mold issues.

-J


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